Derry defeat is a bitter pill for us to swallow
Friday night was a difficult one for us to take as we let a two-goal lead slip away in Derry to come away empty-handed from the Ryan McBride Bradywell. We didn’t deserve to lose the match, but you don’t always get what you deserve, and we have to learn from it.
We started the game very well and were the better side early on. We had spoken all week about sticking to the game plane and we were executing it brilliantly in the first half. We thought we had taken the lead in the first five minutes when I lifted the ball over the onrushing goalkeeper's head and into the back of the net, but unfortunately, the assistant referee’s flag was up for offside.
We kept the pressure on Derry, nullifying their attacking threat, and we deservedly took the lead when our Norwegian winger Jorgen Voilas took advantage of a defensive mix-up to score the opening goal of the game and his first goal for the club. We could and should have gone into the half-time break leading by at least two, but some bad luck on our behalf played its part in the game, staying at 1-0 as we had a certain goal cleared off the Derry line accidentally by one of our own players, but there was very little anyone could do about that.
Early in the second half, we did get that deserved second goal, and it looked like we were set to get our first win of the season. Unfortunately, you are playing a team that has the best player in the league at their disposal (Michael Duffy), you always have a chance to get back into the game, and that is exactly what happened as he scored a hat-trick in the last thirty minutes of the game. Momentum is huge in sport, and when it is with you, it is important that you take advantage of it, or perhaps more importantly, you don’t let it slip back towards the opposition.
For sixty minutes of the game, we were excellent, but football is a ninety-plus-minute game, and in the final third of the game, we invited pressure and got sucker punched. When Derry scored their second goal with 15 minutes left, we actually weathered the storm pretty well until injury time, but a huge moment against us led to the third goal for Derry and left us deflated. Derry scored the third goal from a free kick that came directly from one of their players, who took the most blatant foul throw you will ever see, which was somehow not spotted by the officials. We still have to defend the free kick better, but if the foul throw is given, we most likely kill the remaining time in injury time and come away with a point from a difficult place to go.
It was a real blow to come away with nothing to show for our efforts, but we have to forget about the disappointment and look at the positives from the game, which there were plenty of and try to build on them going forward now.
We face a tough test on Friday night as we welcome the league leaders Bohemians to the RSC. They have started the season brilliantly and have yet to lose a game in their first four, looking impressive in those games too, especially in their Dublin Derby victory over reigning champions Shamrock Rovers last Friday night. They beat Rovers 3-2 on the night, but Rovers scored their two goals in the 94th and 95th minutes of the game, so it just shows how impressive Bohs' performance was. While we will show them the respect they deserve, we know we can beat them and any side on our day, and we will work on a game plan throughout the week, hopefully put it into practice on Friday night, and get all three points.
While it never seems like it after a loss, there is lots to build on from last week, and it is important that we start the game in the same manner that we did in Derry, but learn from the mistakes we made, and if we can put it all together, that will give us a great chance of a positive outcome.
